Flying disk toy

ABSTRACT

A toy includes a generally disk-shaped body, a periphery of which includes a bottom which lies generally on a plane. The disk-shaped body further includes a series of protrusions on an undersurface of the disk, disposed radially inward of the periphery, which extend beyond the plane on which the periphery lies, such that the disk is supported by the protrusions when resting on a support surface, such as the ground, leaving the periphery elevated from the support surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a flying disk, and more particularly toa flying disk of the type used for throwing between individual playersfor a game of catch, and for fetch play with pets.

With conventional disk designs, if the disk should land on the ground,contact is made between the outer rim of the disk and the ground surfaceon which it is supported, thereby making pickup difficult, either by ahand of the player, or in a dogs mouth.

Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a flying disk whichovercomes this and other drawbacks of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with these and other objects of the invention, anembodiment of the invention includes a toy with a generally disk-shapedbody, a periphery of which includes a lower edge which lies generally ona plane. The disk-shaped body further includes one or a series ofprotrusions on an undersurface of the disk body, disposed radiallyinward of the periphery, which extend beyond the plane on which theperiphery lies, such that the disk is supported by the protrusions whenresting on a support surface, such as the ground, leaving the peripheryelevated from the support surface.

In accordance with an advantageous embodiment, the protrusions areformed by projections of the disk body which leave openings (orindentations) above the protrusions, each of a size sufficient to allowa top mold half, during molded production with top and bottom moldhalves being brought together and then released, to clear the openingsand form the top surfaces of the protrusions within the indentations. Byvirtue of such configuration, a material thickness of the protrusionscan advantageously be made comparable to a corresponding thickness ofadjacent areas of the disk body, if so desired. This approach alsoallows multiple disks of like construction to nest when shipped ordisplayed, by allowing protrusions of one disk to be received in theopenings (indentations) of another disk.

It is noted, however, that the protrusions can alternatively be made ofsolid material from an upper surface to the bottoms of the protrusions,leaving no indentations) without departure from the invention.Furthermore, rather than providing plural, circumferentiallyspaced-apart protrusions, a single circumferentially arranged protrudingstructure could be alternatively provided, which extends at leastsubstantially around the disk, inset radially from the periphery.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the figures, an embodiment of a flying disk toyaccording to the invention is depicted. As shown therein, the toy,generally designated by the numeral 10, includes a generally disk-shapedbody 1 which is advantageously, although not necessarily, shaped toprovide aerodynamic lift (for example, having a generally convex upwardfacing surface and concave downwardly facing surface (or respectivecompound curved surfaces, as shown). A series of downward projections 2are provided to said body 1, circumferentially spaced apart, andradially inset from an outermost peripheral rim 1 a of the body 1.Advantageously, as shown, openings 3 corresponding positionally to theprojections 2 are provided in the body 1, to allow structure of the moldin which the toy is molded to extend downwardly to a top surface of theprojections 2, so as to permit control of a thickness of structuredefining the projections 2.

The disk-shaped body 1 has a periphery 1 a of which includes a loweredge 1 b which lies generally on a plane P (see FIG. 3). While depictedgenerally as open “loops,” the projections 2 can take any suitable formwhich is effective to support the disk when on a support surface, suchas, for example, indented conical, cylindrical or other shapedprojections, so as to keep the lower edge 1 b of the periphery 1 a ofthe disk spaced apart from the support surface, for facilitated pick-upby an individual or pet.

In the embodiment shown, small openings 4 are advantageously providedfor accommodating packaging loop fasteners or other mounting elementstherethrough, which serve to facilitate consumer packing of the disk,for example, for attaching a header card for peg mounting in a retailoutlet.

An alternative embodiment places one or more protrusions at a center ofthe disk body, the disk body thereby resting on the surface in a tiltedorientation such that only one side of the disk is spaced apart from theground (support surface). In a further embodiment, the same effect(i.e., tilted orientation) is achieved by protrusions set radiallyinward or the periphery which are not dispersed entirely around thecircumference of the disk body.

The flying disk toy according to an embodiment of the invention can bemade of any suitable material, for example, those already used forconventional flying disks, including for example, natural and syntheticrubber or plastic, and by any suitable production method, for example,injection or compression molding.

Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention with referenceto the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise embodiment, and that various changes andmodifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

1. A flying disk, comprising: a generally disk-shaped body having aperiphery; and at least one projection which extends downward of thebody beyond a plane generally coincident with a lower edge of theperiphery such that when the body is received on a support surface, thelower edge of the periphery is elevated above the support surface andspaced apart therefrom.
 2. A flying disk according to claim 1, whereinthe at least one projection is formed so as to leave an opening orindentation above the projection having a size sufficient to allow a topmold half, during molded production with top and bottom mold halvesbeing brought together and then released, to clear the opening orindentation and form a top surface of the at least one projection withinthe opening or indentation.
 3. A flying disk according to claim 1,wherein the at least one projection includes multiple circumferentiallyspaced-apart protrusions.
 4. A flying disk according to claim 1, whereinsaid generally disk-shaped body includes small openings foraccommodating packaging loop fasteners or other mounting elementstherethrough.
 5. A flying disk according to claim 1, wherein saidgenerally disk-shaped body is comprised of an elastomeric material.
 6. Aflying disk according to claim 3, wherein said multiplecircumferentially spaced-apart protrusions are spaced radially inward ofsaid periphery.